by Francis Ferry, NLN baseball beat writer

December 26, 2038: Asheville, North Carolina – The 2038 PEBA winter meetings came and went – a quiet event this year, matching the peaceful, light snow fall that fell over the weekend, and in what has become a trend, the Borealiswere as quiet as the falling snow, creating little impact.

But it was not all peace and quiet for Aurora, as with the October retirement of bench coach Shigenobu Sato, the club scambled to fil the space – which they did internally as they pushed manager Paul Carlisle upward to fill that spot. Carlisle, who had managed San Luis Rio Colorado (A) to consecutive 83-win seasons – and with his first managerial gig at Mokule’ia included, three-post season appearances, got the nod over Aurora hitting coach ‘Big Whiskey’ Britt – whom many believed was next in-line to take on the bench coach job. As GM Will Topham mentioned in the press conference at that moment, it was a matter of who was the better teacher for the ‘intangibles’ of the job, saying ‘Mike is by far the better teacher of hitting at this point, and Paul has (now) greater ‘managerial’ experience’.

Aurora filled the vacancy with the Oceanic by promoting Pedro Ferringo from Montserrat – leaving the Mystique with a hole – and now we know who will fill that hole – former-Aurora outfielder Nick Heath.

Heath, who hails from the Northern California town of Weed – where barely can you find a place that is not adorned with cannabis leaves, spent five full seasons with the Borealis, half of a six, and a couple of cups of coffee, hitting .291 for Aurora with 85 HR, 331 RBI and stealing 132 bases (in 171 attempts). His career average of .275 reflects his time with the Leones where he hit .254, with another 43 HR and 205 RBI. His best year came in 2030 when career highs in average (.316), HR (28) and RBI (111) earned him his lone All-Star appearance and helped propel the Borealis into their last PEC appearance (a loss to West Virginia). His 6.9 WAR for that 2030 season ranks 10^th All-Time for Aurora.

Nick was a 2022 3^rd round pick out of UAB, where his name litters their leader boards along with the likes of Gustavo Lopez, Scott Wiggins, and G-Rod, 72^nd overall and behind the likes of ‘Fido’ Castro, Lando Lagerveldand Bill Jones (who keeps on ticking) on the Aurora draft board. It was in his third full season in the minors when he made his first trip to Northern Lights to suit up for the Borealis.

During his time with the Borealis the coaches always raved about the time he put into his work on the field – and the mental work of studying pitchers and hitter tendencies. Aurora manager ‘Train Arollin’’ Provost has long said that he thought the Organization should jump at the chance to bring Heath into the fold as a coach – once he finished his playing career – and that impression was mostly formed on spring training observations, as their time together on the Aurora bench was fleeting.

Montserrat has some interesting offensive prospects for Nick to work with – last year’s 2^nd round pick Yataro Sugano, ‘Vowels’ Ueda, Pedro Lujan and Luis Pagan – all who likely won’t finish the year with the Mystique, as Lujan and Pagan will be looking at a promotion and Ueda is quite possibly beginning the year at Short A after an outstanding 2038. Then there is always the 2039 class – and at least for now, Aurora does have a first-round pick; for a change (they’ve had only 1 in the past 5-seasons – Hideki Nishikawa).

“I’m from a town called Weed,” Nick Heath said after his introduction to the press at the Winter Meetings, “and we are all kind of laid back and we are a bit different up there – they’ve long wanted to secede from the Union and be the ‘State of Jefferson’ – so I’m cool working with the rookies – I don’t need to be rushed into the lime-light of Aurora. I played for two organizations that had a history of success, and I loved Havana for its passion and color. I wouldn’t call the experience in Aurora ‘colorful or passionate’, but I loved the people who ran the organization, and the fans were ‘passionate’ in their own ways.” He looked over the heads of the circle of reporters and finished, “There’s a lot of great names in this organization, and I feel lucky to be placed in the same light as them.”

With that, Nick Heath walked away, turning only to say, “I knew I should have learned to surf when I was in Havana!”